Multilateral Cooperation  

The year 2024 marked a strong resurgence in Viet Nam’s international engagement in intellectual property (IP), with the country actively participating in and hosting a number of significant international IP events. Notably, IP Viet Nam hosted the 72nd Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and a series of side events in April 2024 in Da Nang and Hue. The Office also attended the 73rd and 74th AWGIPC Meetings, held in Brunei (September 2024) and Lao PDR (December 2024), respectively. 

At these events, IP Viet Nam, together with IP Offices of ASEAN member states, discussed the implementation of the ASEAN IP Rights Action Plan 2016–2025 and IP cooperation activities between ASEAN and its partners, including the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), among others. Preparations for the post-2025 Action Plan were also discussed. 

Over the years, in close coordination with AWGIPC, IP Viet Nam has contributed significantly to promoting IP cooperation among ASEAN member states and expanding collaboration with external partners, thereby strengthening IP protection in the region, fostering innovation, facilitating technology transfer and dissemination, and promoting regional and global trade liberalization. In the integration process, AWGIPC has served as the central mechanism for developing, coordinating, and implementing ASEAN IP Action Plans, contributing to the goals set forth in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint and supporting ASEAN’s transformation into an innovative and globally competitive region. 

Within the multilateral framework, in July 2024, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy led the Vietnamese delegation to the 65th General Assembly of the Member States of WIPO. In his opening statement, the Deputy Minister emphasized WIPO’s continued support for Viet Nam’s National IP Strategy through 2030 and the successful development of the Local Innovation Index. 

During the mission, Deputy Minister Bui The Duy held discussions with the WIPO Director General and relevant departments responsible for artificial intelligence (AI), proposing to expand cooperation with Viet Nam in studying the intersection between IP protection and AI-generated content, as well as the application of AI to address the patent backlog. 

In 2024, IP Viet Nam continued to strengthen its cooperation with WIPO. The Office closely followed and actively participated in activities aimed at finalizing international legal instruments, such as the Diplomatic Conference on international IP legal instruments, genetic resources and traditional knowledge, the Diplomatic Conference for the adoption of the international treaty on industrial design law, and meetings of WIPO committees and technical working groups. At the same time, the Office continued to implement practical cooperation programs to enhance IP capacity, including technical assistance projects for research institutes, universities, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on IP asset management; support for Gia Lai Province in developing branding and marketing strategies for Gia Lai geographical indication (GI) coffee products. WIPO also organized specialized workshops on IP commercialization and IP and artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to raise awareness among women entrepreneurs and other relevant stakeholders in Viet Nam. 

  

Bilateral Cooperation  

IP Viet Nam remained active in bilateral cooperation throughout 2024 through a number of high-level engagements. A notable highlight in cooperation between Viet Nam and developed countries was the Director General-level bilateral meeting between IP Viet Nam and the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), which marked the 30th anniversary of bilateral cooperation and the signing of the 2024–2025 Action Plan. 

The Office also held working-level discussions with the European Patent Office (EPO) to exchange priority orientations of both Offices, explore the ANSERA search system and EPO’s patent validation initiative, and discuss the potential signing of an Enhanced Partnership Agreement. 

To promote bilateral cooperation with IP offices in the region, IP Viet Nam held a Director General-level meeting with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), during which both sides reaffirmed the importance of the Collaborative Search and Examination (CS&E) Program. The program is aimed at accelerating patent protection for businesses of both countries and facilitating trade and investment between Viet Nam and Singapore. 

  

Capacity-Building Activities for State Management Agencies on Intellectual Property  

Throughout 2024, the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP Viet Nam) organized and participated in various international IP conferences, workshops, and technical cooperation projects aimed at raising awareness, strengthening the capacity of IP Viet Nam and relevant state management agencies, and improving the quality of public services provided by the Office. 

IP Viet Nam co-organized the workshop “Combating Bad-Faith Trademark Filings” (January 2024, Ha Noi) in collaboration with the five largest IP Offices in the world (TM5) and the Japan External Trade Organization in Bangkok (JETRO Bangkok). The workshop enabled countries to share information on national legal frameworks and best practices in handling trademark applications filed in bad faith. In cooperation with the Japan Patent Office (JPO), IP Viet Nam also held a workshop on “Trademark Protection and Enforcement on E-commerce Platforms” (November 2024, Ha Noi). In addition, the Office participated in the 3rd High-Level “Belt and Road” IP Conference and related events (September 2024, Beijing, China). 

Since May 2024, IP Viet Nam has officially implemented a four-year project titled “Enhancing the Capacity of Patent and Trademark Examination,” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The project aims to accelerate processing time and improve the quality of patent (first two years) and trademark (following two years) examinations. During the first phase on patents, the project supports the development of examination guidelines for patent applications in biotechnology and medical technology. 

IP Viet Nam also proactively collaborated with international partners such as WIPO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the Cuban Industrial Property Office (OCPI), and Chongqing University of Technology (China) to organize various training activities on IP-related topics for target groups in Viet Nam. These included patent and trademark examiners, IP agents, research institutes, universities, and provincial Departments of Science and Technology. Notably, a specialized training course was conducted for staff of the Department of Intellectual Property of Lao PDR. These training programs have equipped IP practitioners with essential knowledge and practical skills. 

The year 2024 was a successful year for Viet Nam in international cooperation on intellectual property (IP), marked by numerous key events and high-level meetings with global partners. Through active participation in international forums, technical assistance projects, training programmes, and experience-sharing activities, the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP Viet Nam) made substantial contributions to advancing IP cooperation within ASEAN, expanding relations with international organisations such as WIPO, EPO, and other bilateral partners. These efforts have helped strengthen the capacity of IP-related institutions and the business community. Viet Nam’s proactive engagement in the global IP arena has not only affirmed its growing role in this field but also contributed to the region’s sustainable and innovation-driven development. On this basis, Viet Nam is steadily and confidently integrating into the regional and global IP ecosystem. 

  

 

The 72nd Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (Da Nang, April 2024) 

 

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Mr. Bui The Duy attends the Opening Session of the 65th WIPO General Assembly  

(Geneva, July 2024) 

 

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Mr. Bui The Duy and WIPO Director General Mr. Daren Tang (Geneva, July 2024) 

 

Director General Mr. Luu Hoang Long and INPI President Mr. Pascal Faure sign the 2024–2025 Action Plan (Da Nang, April 2025) 

 

Director General Mr. Luu Hoang Long holds bilateral meeting with Ms. Rena Lee, Chief Executive of IPOS (Da Nang, April 2024)  

 

Deputy Director General Mr. Tran Le Hong holds bilateral meeting with Ms. Mariana Karepova, Advisor to the President of the EPO  

(Da Nang, April 2025) 

 

Training Course on Patent Examination in the Field of Biotechnology (Hanoi, October 2024) 

 

Training Course on Intellectual Property Asset Management and Commercialization for Universities, Research Institutes, and Enterprises  

(Korea Intellectual Property Training Institute, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, October 2024) 

 

Intellectual Property Training Course for Officials of the Department of Intellectual Property of Lao PDR (Hanoi, December 2024) 

  

International Cooperation Division